Here is some food for thought on what makes a good academic teacher. Surely, this requires a a combination of characteristics. Below you will find a list of qualities Kozminski University students mention when asked the above question.
To sum up, a good academic teacher is:
- Close to students
- Experienced
- Open-minded
- Passionate, involved in their discipline
- Charismatic
- Communicative
- Knowledgeable
- Enthusiastic
- Motivating
- Engaging everybody
- Understanding, empathic
- Positive, happy
- With practical experience
- Responding to emails
- Flexible
- Admitting to mistakes
- Good presenter.
Moreover, a good academic teacher:
- Does the preparation for their classes
- Runs engaging classes
- Not only transmits knowledge but makes students think, come up with solutions (develops critical thinking skills in students)
- Has knowledge
- Is enthusiastic
- Provides feedback to students
- Can adapt to changing conditions
- Is flexible
- Teaches employability skills (i.e. prepares students for the challenges of the real world)
- Teaches students to be innovative and creative
- Develops analytical skills, problem-solving skills, socio-cultural skills and moral skills
- Build partnership between the teachers and the students.
Use the above list as a check list for auto evaluation. Identify your weaknesses and the new academic year which is about to begin might be a good starting point for change and improvement.